Queen of the Sith
by rainidae
Summary: A mysterious stranger arrives in Jump city, attacks Raven, and reveals a dark secret about her past and future. Now she and her friends must defeat the most awesome and darkest power in the unniverse, or turn Earth over to the shadows. Chp. 10 now up!
1. The Dark Tide

Disclaimer: I regret to inform you that I do not have legal possession of the Teen Titans.

The dark figure stood perched above the city, studying the quiet streets, from its rest high into the night. The shadow had a purpose, a will, and a reason for being here. Behind the cloak, beneath the armor, and within eyes of ice, a mind was methodically calculating this very city's destruction. The city, in inhabitants, and especially its guardians would soon crumble under the dark tide of the greatest power in the universe. Everything the shadow had ever known, believed in, dreamt of, and hated had all led to this time. It stood, outlined against the full moon, drawn to its full height, darkness against light. With a graceful flourish, the shadow removed its hood, and stared defiantly out into the night as a thread of lighting speared the sky. Thunder cracked as rain began to fall around the shadow as it stared defiantly into the gray void, cold, pupil-less, sky blue eyes regarding its new domain. For soon, this entire world would know that the darkness had arisen from extinction: the sith had come to earth, and all would tremble before the shadow's might.

Raven awoke as she always did, at the first gray light of dawn. For some reason, she hadn't slept well, plagued by confusing dreams of… of what, she couldn't remember, but it didn't matter. There had been quite a storm last night; that much she did recall. That was odd, considering that a clear night had been predicted. But weathermen were often wrong, and besides, she liked storms. Yawning, she made her bed and changed from her p.j.s into a fresh leotard and cloak, washed her face, and proceeded down the hall and into the kitchen. Raven put on a kettle of sweet smelling tea, walked to the adjourning living room where she could watch the sunrise, and picked up her latest novel. Her eyes had barely scanned two lines before she remembered. It was only bits and pieces, shards, but it was enough. A shadow, night, darkness, and _evil._ Something was wrong, something bad had happened last night, something had _come to this city_. She felt it in the air, a cold chill, a sick fear. It was dark, darker than her. A concerned voice interrupted her visions.

"Raven, are you okay? Is something wrong?" The voice was soothing. She looked up, realized she was shaking. A familiar masked figure stood before her. She smiled, relieved now that _he _was here.

"No I'm okay, just a little cold in here." What a lame reply, she thought.

"Are you sure? You look pale, well, paler than usual. If you want to talk about it-" she cut him off.

"It's okay Robin, thanks though. Just had a bad dream, that's all."

"Well, if you say so… Here this should help." Before she could stop him, he had draped a nearby blanket over her shivering form. "Feel better?"

What a gentleman, she thought, If only some other guys around this place were like him. "Uh, yeah, I do, thanks."

"No problem, Rae. Hey are you going to come with us to the convention today? With Starfire on vacation at Tamaran I need somebody sensible to help keep an eye on-" Robin was once again cut off, but this time by a new voice from the kitchen doorway.

"Don't you even think about putting mine or Cyborg's name at the end of that sentence, dude!" The green-skinned, pointy-eared team jokester stumbled into the room, eyes still glazed with a few hours sleep.

"You guys will never appreciate us like we deserve it!"

A smile flitted across Robin's face. "Good morning to you too, B.B. I see you remembered we had something important to do today. I'm so proud of you!" BeastBoy was about to fling back a reply when a much taller from bounded into the room. The Titan's man of half steel waltzed in, all smiles.

"Goooooooood morning ya'll! What's for breakfast! I am famished after that awesome party last night! Man, that was fun!"

BeastBoy looked on with a mask of sheer disbelief on his face. "Life just isn't fair! He was up later than I was! I wish I could just recharge my batteries whenever I-" The conversation dissolved into a heated debate between Cyborg and BeasBboy concerning fairness, sleeping habits, breakfast, and 'yo momma' jokes. Raven and Robin looked on, Robin in amusement, and Raven in disgust. Finally she looked over at Robin imploringly.

"No offense, Robin, but I think I need to stay here and meditate today. Try and make sure they don't manage to completely ruin our reputation. I'm going to escape before I die from overexposure of immaturity. Good luck!"

Robin shook his head laughingly. "Alright, Rae, whatever you feel like doing. We'll be back this afternoon, so call us if you need anything." In a lower voice, so as not to be overheard by the two background contenders still locked in verbal combat; he added, "I hope you feel better!"

She smiled; he was really a sweet guy. "Thanks Robin, I'll try…" She opened a shimmering black portal in the ceiling, turned, and ascended upward through it. She alighted on the Tower rooftop, her favorite place in the city to meditate. And, boy did she need to now. She couldn't make sense of the disturbing new sensation she felt. Hopefully, this would help. She floated upward, crossed her legs, closed her eyes, and let the peaceful stillness of her mind take her away, as she chanted… "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…"

A few miles away, in the seedy, crime-ridden underbelly of the city, the shadow had begun its task. The bar was dim, smoky, and essentially rotting. Somewhere a decade old jukebox was cranking out some ancient tune from its long abused speakers. Roughly twenty depressed alcoholic middle-aged men where busy eating a greasy breakfast before trudging off to their monotonous professions. When the shadow entered, no one noticed or really cared about the cloaked, hooded figure. They had had stranger people come in here before. But, this one was different. Instead of scurrying off to a discreet, unnoticed corner like everybody else and ordering up some slop for the morning meal, this one strode right up to the nearest table, which coincidently housed the largest and meanest looking of the bar's inhabitants, and directly spoke to him. In a calm but assertive and dark tone the hooded figure made its voice clearly heard.

"Where are the Teen Titans?" it simplistically asked. Now, the man it spoke to was also different. The man was Earl, and Earl was tough. He was a working-class bully, and nobody bothered him when he was eating. So he decided to school this weird stranger on Earl's etiquette.

"What kind of a stupid question is that coming from a loser like you? Why don't you go call and ask them yourself? Now get out of my face before I beat yours in!" There were a few nervous chuckles as Earl turned back to his sandwich. The stranger was not visibly affected by the big man's words and in the same tones as before, asked again.

"I asked you where they are, and I advise you to answer me." It spoke again. That was it, Earl was thus far having a bad day, and pulverizing this weirdo would only make him feel better, so he sprang up, knocking his chair over, and roared at the black clad morsel in front of him.

"I'm gonna crush you like a soda can, you little freak!" Earl swung his huge fist like a club, but the figure moved out of its path with unnatural speed and stretched forth its own hand from within the cloak. With a flick of the wrist, it sent Earl flying up and over the table, like an invisible train had smashed into him full force. Earl was hurled all the way across the bar and into the opposing wall where he pinned by unseen hands. Everyone froze. The only sound was that of the jukebox, still playing a long outdated song. The stranger strode across the room with the same calm air as before, hand still outstretched. It looked upwards at Earl so he could see its eyes. Earl was petrified as he peered down into those twin pools of glaring blue ice within the darkness of the hood. The figure spoke, once again, this time with finality.

"I will not ask you again, you are wasting my time. Now, where are the-" At this point Earl interrupted in a desperate pleading tone.

"They live in the bay, on an island, in- in a tower, I swear that's all-" He managed to blubber before the figure withdrew its hand, lowered its gaze, and proceeded to the exit. Earl dropped like a stone and slammed into the bar room floor.

"Thank you for your cooperation." Was the last the figure said before it swiftly strode out the exit, glanced upwards, crouched down, _and leapt up into the sky_, leaving the bar's inhabitants, especially Earl, shocked, visibly shaken and in need of therapy.

Raven was still meditating on the roof as her three male teammates flew off into the city aboard the levitating T-car to attend the superhero fan convention. She didn't even notice their departure, so deep was she in thought. She hadn't located the source of her troubling premonitions, but she was definitely feeling much better. She always found comfort here, alone in thought, tasting the breeze, feeling the sun, and hearing the gentle lap of the waves below her, at peace with herself and her surroundings. So deep was she within herself, she didn't notice the darkness gathering beyond the city, on the horizon. She didn't notice the shadow that fell across the city. And she didn't notice the storm clouds approach until she felt the sunlight leaving her skin, replaced by a bitter chill. Her eyes snapped open as she realized she was eclipsed in a shadow; the sun was gone, replaced by dark turbulent looking clouds. What is going on! She thought. There's no way the weather can change that quickly, there's got to be something wrong! The wind began to blow, as she stood up, her cloak and hair rippling in the gusts. And then she felt it, the same sick fear and cold that she had encountered earlier. But this time it was worse. She began shivering, had to sit down again. Raven peered off across the bay; saw through misted eyes, a speck getting bigger, closer. And then she knew where these sensations where coming from. Whatever it was, the small dot took the shape of a man, clad in black, with a tiny fluttering cloak behind him. She couldn't move, sat petrified, as the figure got nearer, and nearer, until with a flourish, landed on the rooftop with a graceful descent among folds of night colored cloth, and stood before her. She couldn't speak, couldn't move, her eyes wide with fear as he, for it had removed the hood, and glared down upon her through glowing blue-tinted, ice colored eyes, and she saw he was a man, as he stepped forward and spoke.

"Long have I awaited this moment, Raven. Yes, I know you, I know everything about you, your secrets, your desires, your fears, I know them all as well as I know my own." His voice became distant, and her world began to spin. "And you know me. Yes. Search your mind's deepest and darkest corners, there you will find my purpose, and me and when you do, you will know why I have spared you. Tell your comrades of my arrival" She no longer saw, her eyes strained open but she saw nothing. She was slipping. Somewhere she thought she heard thunder, felt rain, but it was dull, muted, for she was numb. "Tell them that I have come, tell them the dark tide has come, tell them," he said, his voice a distant, diminishing roar. "Tell them that the Sith have come to Earth,**_ AND ALL WILL BE LOST!" _**She was falling, fading into the endless night. There was a bright flash, a clash of thunder, and all was still.


	2. Among Friends

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans. I don't know who does, but I envy that individual.

"Whoa, dude! This weather is acting really freaky. What's with the sunny days and then the hail?" BeastBoy was pondering the bizarre shift in atmospheric activity, which was also confusing the car's other two occupants.

"Well, if it keeps on jumping around like this it'll be sunny days again in minutes!" Cyborg offered.

"Whatever happens I hope they don't cancel this convention. We've spent way too long advertising it and two of us aren't even going to attend." He hoped that sounded convincing. Robin was worried. He really couldn't care any less about the convention, all those cameras, and interviews-ugh. He only acted like he cared because Cyborg and BeastBoy really enjoyed it all and he had no right to spoil their fun. Plus it got them out of the tower to actually do something besides play Gamestation all day when there was no training. But what really concerned him was Raven. The way she had acted earlier, she had looked sick, and her expression- one he had never seen from her before. She was terrified- no more than terror, more than fear, it was something else… something that really worried him. Cyborg turned a corner, and through the driving rain, they could see the drenched forms of frantic news crews and well-dressed party guest scurrying every which way; over picnic tables, across a stage, and under a giant billowing plastic banner plastered with the words 'Annual Local Heroes Convention!' across it in bright bold lettering. Beneath that was a hastily scribbled 'Canceled!' Robin felt immense relief.

"Aaaaaaaawwwwwwww MAN!" Cyborg and BeastBoy moaned synchronously.

"Oh no… how sad. It's been canceled. Well, guess that means we go home! Man, I was really looking forward to that. What a bummer. Ok, let's go!" Robin's sarcasm was not lost on his two heavily disappointed companions.

"Hey, wait a minute… You never really wanted to come here, did you!" BeastBoy accused shockingly.

"Well, no I didn't. I mean, with all the publicity, the annoying people, the cameras, none of that bothers you guys? Come on, let's just go home, they'll reschedule it tomorrow, and then we can go. Sound ok?" Robin had a bad feeling about all this, he really needed to talk with Raven; he should never have left her alone at the tower.

"Well, I guess we would look kinda dumb showing up in the rain with everybody gone, and that would put a dent in our reputation, so it's ok with me to reschedule if it's ok with Beast-" Cyborg got that far before Robin jumped in.

"Of course it's ok with him, not let's just GO already!" Robin sounded perplexed, and looked nervous, which was not good for two reasons. One: Robin was almost always clam, and two: even if he wasn't calm, he'd rarely let it outwardly show. Cyborg and BeastBoy both arrived separately at the same conclusion: It had to be bad if it was bothering Robin.

"Alright, we're going back, so just chill back there." Cyborg tried to sound reassuring as he U-turned back the way they'd come.

"Yeah, it's probably nothing" BeastBoy also tried, and failed, to sound the same.

"What's probably nothing?" Robin snapped.

"Whatever's bothering you! You've been acting weird ever since we left!" BeastBoy was confused. He had known Robin for a long time, and there had been only a few times where Robin had really seemed about to lose it. And he didn't want this to become one of those times.

"Look, nothing is bothering me, it's what's bothering Raven! I don't know if you two noticed, but when I first saw her earlier, she was pretty shaken up. She tried to blow it off, but I think something's wrong. And with all this strange weather, well it's too weird. Something just doesn't feel right." Right as Robin spoke, it was as a switch had been flipped: the rain stopped abruptly, like a faucet being turned, the ominous black clouds overhead dissipated into the blue, and the sun sprang out into the now completely cloudless sky. The whole metamorphosis had taken mere seconds, and if it weren't for the utterly confused and drenched convention attendees standing around and the puddles and mini rivers flooding into storm drains, one would never assume that a thunderstorm had been raging here moments ago. The significance was overwhelming.

"Ok, now that's just too freaky!" BeastBoy was staring out the window, jaw slack. Cyborg consulted a dashboard panel and offered his take.

"Radar scans are completely clear! This is so not natural!"

"Cyborg, get us back to the tower now! We're going to find out what's going on!" Robin had no more suspicions; something was definitely out of place here. He was back in control now, like his old self.

"No problem!" Cyborg's arm danced across another panel, and suddenly the T-car's tires shifted ninety degrees, spouted jets of flame, ascended upward into the sky, and banked back towards the tower, and hopefully some answers.

RAVEN'S POV 

Warmth, sunlight. Voices. Familiar sounds, comforting. The numbness was wearing off; it felt like she was slowly surfacing from some cold, dark, and silent pool, the sounds became clearer. The darkness was also fading away, and she became conscious of light; it stung her eyes. The images were still fuzzy, and then she realized her eyes were wet, wet because they didn't close when she passed out, they had been open this whole time. She tried to move, to wipe at her eyes, but her arms were sluggish, she still couldn't completely feel them there, it was like they were caught in some restraining muck. She was no longer lying on the cold, unforgiving concrete, no, she was propped up against something warm, a person, she vaguely thought. Raven spoke, but only moaned, her voice was distant, getting closer. She heard another voice, tried to make sense of what it said, and succeeded

"Raven! No don't move, don't speak, save your strength! We're right here, you're safe now. Just relax! Everything's ok!" It was the voice that held her. Through watery eyes she looked up and saw something she recognized, a mask, a concerned face. She heard another sound, a different voice, a pair of them, voices that also calmed her. She was now among friends.

"Is she alright? What _happened_ to her!" BeastBoy was shocked- that and scared. Even when Raven was fleeing her own powers that night when she was frightened by the scary movie, even then she didn't look this bad. Poor Raven, it pained his heart to see her degraded like this. He picked up her limp hand, held it.

"Who- no what could have done this to her! It's sick, it's wrong man, and somebody's ganna pay; NOBODY hurts my friends!" Cyborg was furious. He fumed. Raven was like a sister to him and BeastBoy; maybe a bossy and often annoying sister, but he loved her for it, like he did all his teammates, and he hated to see any of them hurt.

Robin cradled her in his arms, she was coming around now. On the way back, they tried calling her communicator, but she didn't answer, which was odd, because she always did. When they got within visual distance, they could see her form sprawled out on the roof, and Cyborg nearly crashed the car trying to land as quickly as possible. They hadn't even come to a complete landing before all three were out and at her side. She was a mess. Shallow breathing, cold skin, deathly white complexion, her eyes frozen in unspeakable terror. She had slowly started to revive after a few infinitely long minutes, now she was looking around.

"Raven, let's get you inside, you can tell us what happened later. Guys, give me a hand." Robin eased her to her feet, and the other two assisted in leading her downstairs and laying her onto a couch. She shakily stood to her feet.

"I think I'm feeling better now…"

"No, lie back down, we got this, ok Rae?" Cyborg gently reassured her. She looked; saw BeastBoy bringing pillows, a deeply concerned expression on his face, and there was Cyborg, draping an armful of blankets over her, and Robin, where was- oh, he was there beside her too with some water, she accepted and drank it, it was warm, refreshing, it cleared her head.

Robin spoke again, a soothing voice. "You just need to rest, let us sort this out. You're safe now, just sleep." She wilted under his voice, closed her swollen eyes. She was among fiends. When she thought about it, she saw that they were all really sweet guys, even if they could be annoying. Raven fell asleep under the vigilant care of her faithful friends.


	3. The Takedown

Disclaimer: Ah, guess what? You'll never guess! I don't own the Teen Titans!

A/N- Ok, I hope this chapter renews your interests. Please review and inform me of your opinions. Thank you for reading and reviewing, and enjoy!

He stooped in the darkness that was his only ally, his only friend. He felt its presence; he had grown so dark it was apart of him now. That was why, he surmised, this planet's weather conditions could react so violently when exposed to his power. This planet, this place; it could be corrupted, was corrupted; but only to a point. These few unique guardians whom he had spent his life studying were like blazing torches that held back the descent into chaos that would lead to eternal night. There was too much faith in them that the beings of this planet held; it was like a physical barrier that literally clashed with his invading will. There were others who stood up against the light, who fought against those guardians. But there were none like him. The prophesied chosen one, Raven, she could be like him. In many ways she already was. But, unlike him, she pained herself to resist the allure of the simpler path; she chose to uphold the light. THAT would soon change, if all went according to his plans. The first strike had commenced; it was open war now. It was dangerous to expose that much darkness to her fragilely balanced mind; he could have harmed her worse. However, she had proven herself strong, worthy of her future title. All that remained was to destroy her companions; their loss would shock her into submission. He could have attacked them already, but no- he would get to them in due time. He had been schooled in strategy well, and knew never to underestimate his opponents, and never to leap too hastily into a conflict. He remembered also, however, never to pass up an opportune ambush. He must decide then, whether to wait and observe the results of his challenge, or whether to follow up on his stunning preemptive strike. As he pondered this, his highly enhanced intellect detected a third option, a compromise. He made a mental selection, and prepared himself for the coming battle.

Raven's P.O.V.

Robin, Cyborg, and BeastBoy were also pondering a strategy. They had all unanimously decided upon what they wanted to do, but were perplexed when presented with what they had to do. They had listened to Raven's story over and over, discussing possible perpetrators and motives all afternoon. No one knew what a 'sith' was, and no one was getting any closer to a possible answer. They were stumped and emerged from their discussions with no sensible outcome. Help was out of the question; it would take days for a signal to reach Starfire. They all knew a retaliatory action was necessary and very much in want, but by now they were seriously undermanned and confounded over what to do with Raven.

"We can't just march out on patrol and leave her here to fend for herself!" Robin brought up a good point.

"I know that! But if we just lie around here waiting, how do we know he won't come back to polish up on the job even with us here!" Hmmm… also an interesting fact from Cyborg.

"Yeah, I say either way we're gonna run into this guy, and when we do, Raven can't be with us or be here. I mean there could be more than one of these dudes who has a thing for her. You never know about the crazy ones." BeastBoy started out with a legitimate concern and then crashed and burned on it with an ill-timed joke, which evoked nothing but cricket chirps and glares. Raven had taken a short nap, after which she awoke, resolute that she was fine, contrary to her former appearance. She had been viewing the non-stop chaotic brainstorm session of her teammates in silence from her position on the couch ever since she had retold the event of her frightening experience for the fifth time. She mentally evaluated each presented option and compared it with one of her own. Neither Raven nor any of the guys had gotten anywhere, when suddenly an idea formed in her head.

"Robin, I think I- Robin! Robin!" She gestured impatiently to the masked teen, who ducked out of yet another doomed round of idea swapping and quickly stepped to her side.

"Sorry, what is it, Raven?"

"I was thinking about something he said. He told me to 'search my mind's deepest and darkest corners.' She was thinking hard, trying to form a puzzle that was missing a piece. By now, Cyborg and BeastBoy had stopped mid-gesture to hear her.

"Do you have any idea what that means?" A puzzled green face looked up at her.

"No, but I think I know someone who does…" She trailed off, as she made a connection. "And I'd be safe there, leaving you three free to search…"

"Hey Rae," Cyborg spoke for the other two. "I think you lost us here."

"I could go to Azarath, and ask my mother about all this. She can probably help me. And-"

Robin finished her sentence for her, "And since nothing can follow you there, we wouldn't have to stress about keeping you safe!"

"Only one problem." Raven hesitated.

"Which is…?" BeastBoy asked.

"What about _your _safety? How do you know this- whatever he is- can't eliminate you as easily as he did me?" Raven look worried as another piece in her puzzle vanished.

Robin looked grim. "We don't have much of a choice. He obviously wants you, and we have to try and find out why, all of us. Maybe we can talk to him."

Cyborg grinned viciously. "Or maybe we can kick his but."

"It is the best idea so far, and I don' know how much time we have." Robin mused.

"Alright then," Raven reluctantly agreed, "I'll go make the preparations." She stood up and stretched. "The ritual shouldn't take too long, just so that-" Abruptly the overhead lights cut out, the power shut off, the backup generator died, and thunder rolled across the sky in the distance. Raven froze, and a chill crawled up her spine. "No!" she whispered, as an icy grip settled on her heart. "He's here…"

Change P.O.V.

Robin was the first to move, he took the initiative well. From what Raven told him, they didn't have long. "Cyborg, BeastBoy, lock us in, watch our backs! Raven!" He looked; saw her pale face, shaking hands. "No, Raven! Fight it! Come on, we have to get you out of here!" He seized her hand, as Cyborg accessed the Tower defense grid, and activated the lockdown sequence, via his right arm. Beastboy turned into a little green bat and sat on the floor, cocked an ear.

"Good thinking BeastBoy, tell us if you hear anything. Cyborg, I'll take her back to her room, make sure she completes the ceremony. You two stay here, guard the hallway." He looked darkly at the determined, seven foot tall, heavily armed, and super strong teen that stood before him. "And if he gets in here make him seriously regret it!"

Cyborg grinned, gritting his teeth, as his arm transformed into his favorite weapon, and it began to glow blue. "That I can do!" He hissed. Robin knew he could count on them as he took off down the hallway, half carrying a stunned Raven down it till he arrived at her door. They stepped inside, and he laid her gently on the floor, and knelt beside her.

"Ok, Raven, tell me what you need!" He leaned over her, gently shook her.

"Raven, we really need to get you out of here, now we _need_ you to do this!"

With effort and help Raven elevated herself to a sitting position. She was doing better; she didn't look near as bad as the first time. She was still breathing hard, but she obviously was back in control. She gestured to a cabinet at the far end of the room.

"Get the vials out of that cupboard, all of them, and I'll show you what to do." She rasped. Robin went over to them, and they began the ceremony.

Change P.O.V.

Against the night that encased the odd-looking landmark out on the island, against the shadows stood a greater darkness, perched and patiently waiting, watching, calmly observing the spectacle within. He had watched for hours, as the four hopelessly confused beings held a gathering mere meters from his position. He could decipher from their motions and movements, expressions and reactions practically everything that was said. They knew nothing of him, his purpose, his goals, or his motives. His enemies were so comfortable in their lives that they never expected this. They were in the dark, completely senseless, unaware, vulnerable, and weak. He had performed reconnaissance on his adversaries, and now he could strike when they were at their worst, and he at his best. His selection of his third option was about to pay off. He reached into his mind and withdrew the dam that had back the torrent of his power. He loosened the dark energy that waited within his core; a dark furnace of raw power that he had spent years taming until his heart had been taught to obey his mind. He shook loose its bonds now, and felt it embrace him, felt it flow into and back out of him, felt it tear into the skies above and strike hard against the barrier that lay there. There the two sides churned together; striking like flint against steel, until electricity lashed the heavens and fell to earth, and the winds began to twirl his cloak. His mind cleared to the task at hand. He had been detected; two of his targets had quickly left his field of view, leaving two behind; two that were alert and ready. No matter, so was he. He spun from his post out into the flickering night, fell, then felt the dark lift him up into a graceful arc and down into a glide. The warrior descended from the skies, cloak spread like billowing wings, and with a flick of the hand, sent forth an invisible wave effortlessly shattering the transparent view port. He leaped through its absence, and into battle.

Change P.O.V.

Cyborg looked over at his companion, who had currently assumed the form of a green bloodhound, sniffing at the air and cocking his head, listening for any unwelcome sounds.

"You pick up any thing, B.B.?" Cyborg was tense, uneasy. He hated waiting for stuff to happen, he preferred to just jump right in there and go.

His neighbor moved and became human again. "I can't smell anything, and there's too much noise from the storm to make anything out."

"Guess we just wait here then, and- wait! What was that?" Cyborg straightened his arm-cannon, pointed it, and began slowly walking towards the window.

"What was what?" BeastBoy demanded.

Cyborg walked right up to the window, peering through it suspiciously. "Thought I saw something, like a shadow. Never mind, it's probably noth-" At that point the entire window exploded inwards, towards both of them. Cyborg was hurled clean off his feet and through the air like a rag doll, where he collided with a stunned BeastBoy, who caught a glimpse of glass and black cloth before he was knocked off his feet. The two of them rolled off of each other and into unsightly heaps on the floor. They both sprang back to their feet to witness the being that knelt before them in the emptiness of the shattered window frame. The figure was shrouded in a swirling cloak, blacker than anything either of them had ever seen. It was tall, about six feet, and moved with grace and inhuman smoothness. It arose, and with an elegant twist removed and discarded its wing like covering to the floor, revealing a shell of black armor, almost medieval, but subtly twisted and suitably modern in a fascinating way. The armor it wore was spiked at the shoulders, and appeared very durable, and yet lightweight and manageable; with intricate interwoven plates flawlessly fused into a full body covering. The only feature that surpassed the armor was the eyes of its owner. Infinitely deep pools of frozen radiant blue, no pupils, just a pair of icy corneas, which scrutinized them with expressionless care.

Cyborg recovered first. "Who are you, why are you here, and what do you want?" He growled at the intruder. Whoever this guy was, his introduction didn't intimidate the Titan's tallest member. He had seen, fought, and defeated guys like this all the time; this was going to be no different.

The intruder spoke, with a dark and yet pleasant tone. "My business here is none of your concern, all you need trouble yourself with now is your survival."

BeastBoy, being the rash individual he was, decided to cut short any annoying formalities and to initiate a fight. He snarled at the opposing figure. "Worry about yourself loser, cause you're going down!" Before Cyborg could prevent him, his partner had morphed into a tiger and charged the black knight.

To Cyborg, it looked like this. The black clad intruder calmly stretched forth an outspread gauntlet covered hand, made a fist, pulled that fist back like he was preparing to swing a punch, and suddenly BeastBoy's leap accelerated midair and he was thrown past his target and out the window, where he fortunately changed into a hawk and circled back around. By now, Cyborg found himself firing a sonic blast at the dark character while charging by his teammate's example. The target raised another hand to meet the blue beam, which was reflected back to its source on contact. The blue and white armored Titan was struck hard by his own energy, and sent spinning off to slam into a wall, where he fell to the floor, followed by a large portion of the shattered support he just hit. He lay there, momentarily stunned.

BeastBoy was furious and confused. He had been effortlessly tossed out a window, and his friend had just as easily been taken down. The green teen tried a different approach, this time changing from a bird to an enraged gorilla in midair, and fell, hands swinging, double fisted together, poised to pulverize the infuriating attacker. But, once again, his blow never landed. With a gesture similar to the one first used, the adversary sent BeastBoy careening straight down through the floor, and then back up through it, and into the ceiling. Finally, his body trailing debris, BeastBoy was ripped free of the ceiling, hurled once again out the window, far out across the sky, and then down onto the hard surface of the water, where he sank limply into the cold murky depths.

With a roar, Cyborg literally exploded out of the pile he had been buried in, flew across the room, and began swinging, catching his opponent off guard and almost managing to hit him. But, none of Cyborg's rage-powered offensive strikes actually landed. The intruder regained his footing and easily dodged and spun out of the path of every last attack, as the cybernetic assailant's fists struck and destroyed walls, large sections of the floor, overhead fixtures, and anything else that stood in his way. It seemed his target was gaining more and more distance between them when suddenly the shadow leapt up and floated backwards in a well-calculated arc across the room, and then shot back across the distance like a blazing black comet, his fist shining with blue electricity. Before Cyborg could even move, it hit him in an explosion of sparks, smoke, shards of blue and white metal, and eerie blue light. Cyborg felt himself lifted up, as pieces of his shattered chest danced in the air before him, heard himself scream, felt himself flying through a window, saw sparkling pieces of glass, and staring down at him, as he fell, he saw those merciless cold eyes of ice admiring their work. Darkness and silence consumed his world before he struck the ground. Like a broken and discarded toy, Cyborg flopped into the waters and sank like a stone, as spears of lightning crossed the sky, and thunder rolled in answer.


	4. A Meeting of Two Warriors

Disclaimer: I really wish I owned the Teen Titans. Too bad I don't.

It was all Robin could do not to scream himself. He was tempted to tear out of the room at the first sounds of battle, and at Cyborg's cry he would have, had not he noticed Raven and remembered his task on his way to the door. She was sobbing within the circle of candles, opened vials, and books that they had set up. Robin went to her side.

"This is all my fault! I never wanted this happen, I don't even know why it's happening-" She got that far before Robin leaned down and embraced her.

"-Which is exactly why you have to leave. None of this is your fault. Whoever is doing this to us is the one to blame, and I will not let him get away with it." Robin spoke, his reassuring voice calming her. He released her against his will; he didn't want this to happen, but he knew it wasn't safe for her here. She quivered, nodded, and drew herself together, prepared herself to access the portal. She didn't want to go away, to leave her friends behind to battle something that was after her, she didn't want to leave _him,_ but she knew what she had to do.

"Goodbye, Robin." Raven whispered, her eyes misted with tears.

"Goodbye, Raven. I will see you again. When this is all over." He reached out, touched her cheek. She laid her hand over his as she began chanting a single phrase, over and over. The candles lit themselves, one by one, in order, and a strange wind began to swirl about within the confines of the room. A shimmering black oval opened above Raven's body, and then descended over her, enveloping her in light. There was a bright flash, like a silent explosion of pure light, and then Robin was alone with an empty outstretched hand in a room filled with vacant smoking candles and pieces of scattered paper.

There was silence, cold and empty, punctuated by a flicker of lightning and the low rumble of thunder. A shadow fell over Robin and then twisted and vanished as the lightning faded. Robin spun around into a ready stance to view the figure that calmly stood in the doorway. Robin's first impression was that he facing a character from some fantasy game, a darkly armored villain. Where the figure's eyes should have been, two slanted orbs of glowing pale blue were set instead into the sharply featured face. His approach had been utterly soundless, and now he scrutinized Robin like one would an opposing team's star player in a sporting event. Robin clenched his fists even tighter as a rage began boiling deep in his heart.

"Who are you." Robin snarled. It was no question, it was a demand.

The darkly clothed intruder answered in a cold, colorless tone. "Your mechanically-hybrid comrade asked me that same question, and now lies at the bottom of the waters, along with the green one." At this Robin's teeth audibly clenched together. The figure continued. "My identity is of no consequence here, but my objective is; and that is your destruction. You will share your friend's fates."

"Not if I can help it!" In a lightning-quick movement, Robin's hands flew to his sides, retrieved a quartet of birdarangs, and flung them at the offender, their razor edges spinning on a perfect collision course with their target. They never reached it. In a movement as equally quick as Robin's, the shadowy figure flipped up his right hand and the spinning projectiles ceased their forward movement, but continued to rotate, held aloft and stationary, halfway between the combatants. Robin stared, inwardly perplexed at this alarming new development, but outwardly he remained tense and ready for anything that might follow.

"Your tools are interesting, but useless. Surely you can give me a fair challenge, as did the others preceding you." His words stung Robin, who would have charged madly and carelessly forward, except for the fact that his own weapons were now flying straight at him, propelled by a gesture from the hand of his opponent. In the split moment it took for the blades to cover the distance between them, Robin leapt forward and twisted midair, the gyrating red edges of the four birdarangs passing within mere inches of his body. He landed, his hand sprouting a metal rod, and as the blades spun around to strike his back, he effortlessly plucked them out of the air with swift precisely calculated jabs of his staff, which he wielded behind him, as he faced his opponent.

"You may have powers, but let's see if you can _really_ fight!" Robin grinned viciously and hurled himself across space, his staff spinning overhead in an attack meant to swipe his target across the face and to demobilize him indefinitely. The answer to Robin's question, though, came in the form of a black finished, triply reinforced, class "A" ititanisteel boot, which lashed heel first across his face, just a moment after he left the ground. Robin was sent spinning in reverse of the way he had just come, smacked the ground hard, and skidded to a halt at the foot of Raven's bed. Through blurred eyes Robin glimpsed the figure approach, and extend a hand towards him. The hand began to crackle and resonate with blue energy, until the room was illuminated with the harsh glaring light.

"Your destiny awaits you. Farewell." The steely-eyed adversary aimed his hand at Robin, and released the compounded electric energy in an explosive chain at his victim.

Robin saw through wide eyes the supernatural build-up of power, but was powerless himself to escape it. He tried to stand, his head spinning, the floor tilting, but couldn't move. All he could do was to desperately reach out a hand to ward off the coming inevitable attack. All he could think of in that single instant was of Raven. He promised her he would see her again. He promised her and himself. In that moment, he consciously refused to break that promise. And a moment later, the energy met the flesh of hispalm. Then something happened that neither combatant expected. The flesh broke the energy, so that it flowed around the flesh, like a solid boulder in a raging torrent. Robin watched, in awe, as blue lightning swirled off his fingertips, and around his whole body. Then the torrent abruptly ceased.

P.O.V. Change

_Impossible!_ The word screamed through the shadow's mind. A force user on this planet besides Raven! It couldn't be so! This planet was populated solely by beings that possessed no connection to the force. Certainly none of which used the light side of itanyway. None that were known, and none of which he had been informed. He withdrew his hand, and stepped back. There was no telling what this boy was capable of doing, even as ignorant as he was of his own abilities. An improvisation was now necessary in order to diffuse the situation and to remove the boy as a threat. Perhaps a conversation would do.

"This is an interesting development, one that certainly surprises even myself." He took a non-aggressive stance against the doorway, certain his actions would elicit a response from the curious young warrior.

P.O.V. Change

Robin regained his footing as his head cleared. So many questions were racing through his mind in random assortment. What had just happened? What was the extent of this guy's powers? Who _was_ this guy? What did he want with Raven? Robin finally reverted to his original request.

"Would you at least tell me who you are? Or do you want to spar again?"

The shadow saw no reason not to reveal this much; it probably wouldn't jeopardize his mission very much, if at all. So he answered.

"If that information is so vital to you, then I will comply nonviolently. I am Lunaeus Zsythe of the Sith. I believe you are Robin. Don't appear so shocked; I have studied you and your exploits for as long as you have had them. Such information is not difficult to gain."

Robin knew this guy had an edge against him, and that he needed to gain one as well. He went on to the next question that popped into mind.

"Alright then, would you mind telling me why my team and I became your prime targets? What did we ever do to you?"

The response was quick and harsh.

"Not what you personally are guilty of, but what your ancestors did to my people is why I am here! Your teammates simply stood against my objective, I had no quarrel with them."

"Then why did you hurt them if they weren't causing you any trouble! None of us did anything to you, or you people! You can't change what happened in the past!" Robin felt the rage boiling up within him again.

"But I can shape the future! Your forefathers utterly decimated mine; all in the name of doing what they called "good" and destroying what they labeled "evil!" And as of your friends, they would not have idly sat by and allowed me to perform my designated task. They had to be removed, and so do you!" Zsythe's words were filled with spite.

"What _is_ your task?" Robin asked, his voice portraying his feelings.

"To gain back everything that is rightfully mine, to restore what my fathers had taken from them, and to not allow generations of sith legacy fall into ruin! To do this, I need Raven, and I will have her, regardless of what she, or anyone else desires." The cold eyes glowed with a frenzied malice. "And no son of a jedi will ever prevent me from attaining my destiny!"

Robin was furious. He had no idea of what any of this meant. What was a sith? And what was a jedi? How did Raven fit into all this?What was this guy talking about, how Robin's forefathers robbed his of something somehow? So many more questions… The cold tone withdrew him from his thoughts.

"It is useless to oppose me. Raven will fall to me and my objective will be attained. There is nothing anyone can do to prevent that from happening. I suggest you stop trying. I will not waste my time disposing of you; I have far more important tasks at hand, the foremost of which is to locate Raven, who is obviously not present here." Zsythe turned and strode toward Raven's door. He stopped to deliver a final warning. "If you ever attempt to hinder my actions again, we will do battle, and at that time, your fate will match that of your comrades'."

"You won't get away with this! I will find my friends, and we will hunt you down! You'd better watch your back." Robin flung his threat at Zsythe.

"Be advised of whom you are threatening, and beware the consequences of doing so." With that last hauntingremark the shadow left the room. Robin followed swiftly, almost on Zsythe's heels, but when he stepped into the hallway, it was empty, void of the shadow. The storm died down over the tower, and the silence of the night returned over the battleground, broken only by the voice of a warrior.It was afierce cry of rage, a solemn sound of sorrow, and a determined promise of revenge.


	5. The Revelation

A/N: SORRY! I know, I took way too long to write this dinky little chapter, but I have been so incredibly insanely busy. I'll honestly try to update more often. Thanks for your extreme patience!

Disclaimer: No. The answer to your question is no. I don't have ownership of the teen Titans

Raven was spinning through a maelstrom of light as her room, her home, her friends, and Robin's touch all dissolved into a searing nothingness. She gathered her wits and accelerated through the portal until she arrived at her destination: an exit ramp off the supernatural highway. She stepped through the shifting colors and fell back into reality. Only she stood light years away from her departure point. Azarath hadn't changed much since she had last been there. Streets still deserted, eerie silence, an unsettling serenity encompassed the place. Raven walked down the most familiar path, one she had taken before. Huge yet empty structures, centuries old, towered above her. _Such a strange place home can become… _she thought as she ascended the spiral stairway. At the top Raven turned the last step to view the only other living being in this forgotten city. The figure, dressed in a simple white robe, similar to Raven's own, stood at about her height. Her back to Raven, she silently observed the desolate expanse sprawled below her perch. She spoke, her voice heavy with the weight of one who has seen much, too much. Past glories, better days, untold sorrows and bitter tragedies.

"It's beautiful, isn't it? The city. Sad, empty of life, yet so full of rich memory. For so many years, people walked these streets, lived their lives, and filled this place with their light and love. They're all gone now, lost, forgotten, only shards of thought memorialize who they all once were." The shoulders dipped, she lowered her head, overwhelmed by the enormity of her own words.

"You know why I'm here. I want some answers. To questions you knew about and never told me!" Raven was impatient; she had no time for her mother's cryptic words.

"I knew they would send for you one day, I knew he would come. Somehow, I had hoped it would never happen. But in the darkest corners of my heart I knew there was no stopping it. There is no stopping the shadow…"

"Enough riddles! I will stop him! Now tell me everything you know! Everything!" Raven's eyes flared. She was in no mood for this-this poetic rambling. She had to get back to her friends A.S.A.P.

The figure slowly turned around to face her posterity. Ashen face, solemn eyes, and a deep, lonely gaze held within them. She spoke, in the same quiet worn voice as before.

"What I know I will reveal, that and nothing more than what you need now." She looked away, past Raven, away beyond time. "The universe is governed by the powers of light and darkness. Two sides, both equally strong, and equally different in their ways. There are those who follow these opposing truths, disciples who study, uphold, and wield the power of the two paths. Across the stars, for untold generations, these believers have been known as the guardians of the force: the knights of the Jedi, and the warriors of the Sith. The Jedi stand by the light side of the force, they study and practice for years to sharpen their minds and to hone their bodies to shed the light of peace and justice wherever they can. The Sith are the followers of the Dark Side, the simpler path of costly freedom. They use their emotion to fuel their strength, and leave death, destruction, and sorrow in their wake."

At this point Raven interrupted. "He used those words, Jedi and Sith, but what does all this philosophical history have to do with him and me! What does he want!"

"Patience, Raven. All things in due time. As I was explaining…" Raven's mother continued. "These two intergalactic factions have existed since the dawn of time, and they have campaigned against each other for almost as long. Their continuous struggle has crossed millions of light-years and countless eons, reemerging disguised behind various shady conflicts, or in all out open war just as often. The endless crusades were at their greatest ever during the great Sith War, just over a century ago. Hundreds of thousands of young knights gave their lives, or had them torn away, all for their sacred cause. Thousands of worlds were shattered by the talons of war, and millions of beings perished. The conflict reached its epoch on the Plains of Zentath Three, and it was there in the storm of battle that the Sith fell, were defeated, their armies broken. The victorious Jedi hunted their people down, exterminating them all until there were simply none left."

"This must be what Szcythe meant, his "purpose," resurrecting the Sith. But how can he do that alone? And how can he even be a Sith if they were all destroyed a hundred years ago?" Raven was staring to comprehend, but she only had a few pieces assembled, she couldn't see the larger image.

The white-robed speaker continued, but she was obviously disturbed. Her voice began to shake. "In the hands of the last Sith ever eliminated by the Jedi was a mysterious tablet, inscribed with the language of shadow. It read:

_From the clench of victory shall come eternal night, the thundering storm to extinguish the light. In ten squared years the Sith will return, at the gaze of ice the light will burn. The half-demon Titan will be half the key, united with shadow she forever shall be. The stars will tremble before the two, and the reign of darkness will begin anew."_

Raven's thoughts froze. Her jaw slackened as that one realization seared her mind. All the pieces had leapt together, revealing the horrible truth.

Her mother spoke in a tearful voice. "You see Raven, he's not alone. He is the essence of ages of Sith, all compiled into the darkest, most powerful being imaginable. He is darkness incarnate, reborn and unleashed upon this galaxy. King of all Sith, and you Raven, are his queen."


	6. Is All Hope Lost?

Disclaimer: Idon't own theTeen Titans.

"How- how do you know all this!" Raven stumbled back, her mind and body numb from the terrible realization.

A suddenly fierce voice answered her. Her eyes shining, her hands trembling, the weathered woman now looked years younger, her hair the color of sunflowers, the very air around her shimmering with a luminous glow lit from the core within, by the spark of a memory. "Because, Raven. I am the last in a line that stretches beyond comprehension, back to the very twilight of existence. I am all that is left of what was once the greatest and purest and noblest of empires. I am the only true Jedi left in this fallen age. I was young once, and I studied, read, and trained myself to become one of the beings of legend. I succeeded, arose and became a master of the force, a wielder of the light…" The flame flickered, faltered, and faded. "And then I fell, consumed by the one darkness that rivals the might of the force. All my knowledge, power, and even my very will couldn't save me from the demon's wrath." She was once again the forlorn, saddened woman, with graying hair and empty eyes. The lonely figure turned a now weathered face again to the shadows. "I had only one hope left, one last ray of brightness, one last reason to feel joy." She looked up, directly into her daughter's wide and watery violet eyes and whispered a single word. "You."

Raven was speechless, her heart twisted inside her chest. She couldn't move, couldn't think. _She loves me._ She wanted to rush forward to cry, to embrace her mother, but she was frozen.

"And even that was wrenched from me. For I knew from since you were but a child that you would be cursed by my failures. Your own powers would bind you, your father would use you to spread his evil, and now, now the last curse is unfolding. The shadow would seek to claim you as its own, to change you, to force you to live an eternity enslaved to your own darkest desires. I knew it all would happen, I knew from the beginning of your impending doom. "

"Are you saying there is nothing I can do this time? That all hope is lost? That there is no way to fight him! Tell me!" Raven was feeling such a whirlwind, so overwhelmed, she didn't know what to think or believe.

"All hope is never truly lost, Raven. Your father never completely succeeded in his quest against you. And then, as now, the odds were stacked against you. But the force truly moves in mysterious ways, and you rose up to defeat him." She paused, looked intently into the shadows, as if searching for something. "The boy, Robin. Your feelings are strong for him." The speaker once again turned and faced the desolate sky over the ruined city.

Raven lifted her head from her hands. "They are. I think I love him, but mere feelings can't fight battles."

"But they can, Raven. The combinations of recent events, as well as your accepted feelings toward Robin have… awakened something hidden in the deepest corners of his soul. Of course it's always been there, just never as strong as it is now."

"What do you mean?"

"Have you ever wondered why he always emerges unscathed from conditions that would utterly destroy any normal human? How he can fight the way he does, leap across rooftops, move with such speed? It never seemed strange?" Raven started to reply but her mother cut her off. "Raven, Robin is a force user. He has phenomenal potential. He simply isn't aware of it. There is only one way to stop Zscythe, and that is if Robin takes Szythe's place in the prophecy. Only then can you end this."

"How will Robin replace Zscythe? Is there a ceremony, a ritual to perform?" Raven's mind had suddenly cleared with hope. Perhaps her endless string of curses would be ended with a simple ritual, followed by an easily one-sided battle in which she and her friends would emerge victorious as they always used to.

"That I cannot tell you. Only you and Robin know in your hearts what you must do to be joined in the force. And even then, challenging the greatest Sith Lord will not prove an easy task. The power he holds over you is strong, you must not succumb to its might. That is all I can reveal."

"I need to know more. Tell me, please, why have you never told me until now, how do I join with Robin, how can I resist Zscythe!"

The eyes once again filled Raven's view. She saw pain, regret, and a longing for something just out of reach. The voice spoke for the final time. "I can never fully explain the vast mysteries of the force, Raven. I can only tell you what must be done. Zscythe will claim you as his queen unless you can unite in the force with Robin. You must find Robin and discover the right path to take. Now, go, leave this place, and find your friends. They need you. Now go before it is too late. May the force be with you." She turned away, looking the same as when Raven first saw her. Raven was burning with questions, but knew there were no more answers here. She too silently turned, and left.

Back in the tower, high above the empty city, a mother wept for her daughter.


	7. Cyborg's Ascension and Zscythe's Assault

Disclaimer: You know the routine. I do not have ownership of the Teen Titans, but Zscythe is mine!

A/N-Here's chapter seven, sorry it took this long, enjoy!

WARNING…

ENVIORNMENTAL CHANGE DETECTED…

ACTIVATING AUTOMATED LIFE-SUPPORT…

COMPENSATING FOR OXYGEN INTAKE…

Words scrolled across Cyborg's mind. His head reeled with the last images he could remember. A shadow. A wave of an armored hand. Beast Boy spinning off into the black of night. Rage, burning anger, hatred. Reflected emotions in the eyes of his externally calm foe. Now, pain, intense throbbing pain in his chest. Dancing bits of his metal body before his eyes. Falling… Falling from the pale, fierce glowing flame of the eyes that watched his descent into the depths.

He felt cold. Numb. Swaying back and forth like a leaf in an autumn breeze. He awoke to the aching pain in his chest. All around him was darkness, an inky black void of cold desolate silence. He remembered. He had fallen from the tower, his titanium plate armor shattered; his fragile internal parts of fused flesh and metal had been brutally beaten and bruised. He had fallen, struck the hard unforgiving surface of the bay and had sunk unconscious to the bottom. His blurred and static vision cleared as ocular lenses adjusted to the water. Even with enhanced night vision, it was difficult to discern anything from anything else. It was darker than anything he had ever experienced. _How long has it been? _He wondered. _How long have I been down here? _Suddenly a surge of adrenaline, ignited by a memory, swept through to his very core. _Raven and Robin…They're still inside with HIM! I have to get back up there… _He thought as he frantically thrashed around in a panic. Half of his instruments were down; he had no way of finding which way was up. He tumbled over and over in the murky darkness, desperate to get to the surface. His hand lashed out and rebounded from something solid. He groped madly about until he gripped it; a mossy jagged piece of stone jutting up from the bottom. Cyborg pulled himself erect, tugging on the rock for support. Abruptly, a flicker of light passed by somewhere overhead, like the brief flash of a shooting star. He saw it again, but this time he fixed his gaze on it and hurled himself upward with all his might. His effort was futile, however, as his immense and heavy frame sank back down to the floor with enough force to land him hard on his back again. With a snarl, he reached down to his feet, flipped a switch, and was suddenly and explosively projected to the surface and beyond, as he broke the divide between water and air and ascended above it into the night in a geyser of smoke, steam, and water. He glanced below as the world slid away beneath him; courtesy of the recently installed jump-jet boosters attached to the soles of his feet. A small bobbing light was rapidly approaching from the rocky shore at the tower's base. He started to steer himself in that direction, to a place where he could land and confront the owner of the light, whom he desperately hoped was not the cloaked intruder. Abruptly, his left boot's jet cut out, no doubt due to its prolonged exposure to water, and Cyborg found himself spiraling wildly out of control toward the shore, propelled by his unbalanced right jet; end over end until with a painful grunt he slammed into the hard stony beach and skidded to a halt. His vision crackled and blurred. He heard footsteps from behind and saw his own shadow hanging over him as the light- and its unidentified carrier- approached. Unable to move, Cyborg lay paralyzed in pain as he felt the figure behind him rapidly approaching. Running. That meant- He sighed in relief at the sound of Robin's gravely concerned voice.

"Cyborg! Can you hear me! Are you ok? C'mon, we have to get him some help!"

With quite an effort, Robin managed to roll his injured teammate over and sharply inhaled at the visible evidence of the extent of damage Cyborg had taken.

"Who's we?" Cyborg weakly wheezed.

"Hiya, Cy. Yeah I'm ok. I'm lucky Robin fished me out of the sink when he did. Not the greatest I've ever felt, but I'll live." The familiar voice of the green changeling, despite its humorous coating, was audibly strained. "We have to get you back to the tower, though. You're hurt bad, man." The two titans struggled to lift their cybernetic counterpart to his shaky feet.

"Wait-" Cyborg coughed. "Where's Raven? She ok?"

Robin turned away. "She's safe. For now. But Zscythe won't stop hunting her."

"Who, now?" Cyborg asked.

"Our party crasher. He's after Raven to fulfill some ancient quest of vengeance for some weird hokey-pokey mystic magic dudes from a long time ago." Beast Boy did his best to summarize what little Robin had explained during their search for Cyborg.

"Ok then, but how come he didn't toss Robin here out a window or through a wall like he did us? Because I'm guessing he didn't." Cyborg limped along, supported by his two teammates.

"I'm not really sure, but somehow I repelled his electrical attack." Robin's voice hinted dazed confusion. " I don't know how, I just stretched out my hand and it… reflected off of me… After that he felt like talking a bit, then he just left."

"What did he say?" Cyborg looked over at Robin, his shattered red optical opposite his human eye was dull and empty, but his voice conveyed his concerned curiosity. They had arrived at the main Tower doorway by now, and it opened at a wave from Robin's key card.

"Come on inside, I'll tell you."

The three titans hobbled inside, and set about stabilizing their injuries as Robin began recalling his experience.

The streets were dark, by now abandoned to the silence of night. Thick wisps of steam hung across the city, wafting up through grates from the subterranean machines that ran the industrial heart of the city. Shadows were abundant, despite the mass scores of street lamps that attempted to illuminate the metropolitan giant. Far above the foggy city, another shadow slid across the sky and through the bright full moon. Unlike its simple and earth-bound counter-parts, however, this shadow was alive. It examined the sleeping steel and concrete giant below like a raptor eying its prey. Zscythe continued his casual flight, the breeze snapping at his cloak and streaming across his face. He had much to think about. His primary objective had been placed on an indefinite pause due to his target's sudden and alarming disappearance. Raven had left the planet; he had felt her departure quite abruptly, it was if part of reality had suddenly shifted and was no longer present. He was aware of her abilities, but he had not known their full extent. Even now he didn't fully comprehend what she was capable of. Apparently, teleportation was just another tool in her arsenal. But in the end, her simple tricks would be of no consequence; he would track her down and suppress her spirit till she bent to his will. He still held sway over her mind, she couldn't hope to face him, yet alone defeat him. By herself, anyway. Which brought up another snag in his plan. Her companion, the masked boy, Robin, was a frighteningly strong force user, who, like Raven, wielded vast amounts of raw power. But, unlike her, he had not the slightest idea of how to control his gift, or even to comprehend its existence. He was a snag, all right. But snags can either be patiently undone with time, or they can be sliced to pieces quickly and brutally. And without the knowledge of how to truly use your own potential, you were doomed to fail. They would all fail; all the mindlessly wasted beings that threw away their lives defending those they should be ruling over. He found it hard to even imagine the motive behind their efforts. It was a tragedy, really. But it was their tragedy, not his. He had made his choice they had made theirs'. And their decision, he thought with grim satisfaction, was wrong. They would fail, and the Sith would be reborn. Because the Sith always make the right choice. It was with thus a thought that he reached the site of his new objective. He alighted on a rooftop, began surveying, calculating. Everything was in order. It was time to take this war to the next level.

First Class Sergeant Timothey Wrallins stood at attention outside the heavily fortified District A Police Station. Like all official members of the city's elite Civilian Law Enforcement and Protection Agency, he was dressed head to toe in gleaming white anti-laser armor, complete with an optical enhancement mask, also armor plated. He checked the pulse capacity on his phase rifle before returning his watchful gaze to the street. His responsibility this evening was to guard the station's perimeter gate while the main force was out on night patrol. They would manage any criminal slime that decided to take advantage of the city's curfew to conduct a variation of devious activities. The city's military-like policy on law enforcement was actually quite popular and widely accepted by its citizens who, despite being under the vigilant protection of the Titans, still preferred the comfort of having another force to handle situations too minor for the Titans to get involved in, like illegal substance tracking or light robberies. The Titans were the big artillery, called in to subdue criminals that the local police deemed too risky to tackle on their own. Hopefully, Wrallins thought, no one of that nature would be out on those streets tonight. He had put in a hard day's work; having been called in to do community clean up at the convention grounds earlier in the day when the freak storm nearly had people rioting in panic. He was happy to have been selected for this light guard stuff; in two hours and fifteen minutes he would be back at the barracks sound asleep. That was if nothing of significance happened. So it was with a degree of annoyance that he noticed a dark shape emerging from the mist and directly approaching his booth. He was slightly taken aback; it was strange for anyone, either a citizen or especially a criminal to be anywhere around here at this hour. No matter, by law Wrallins was required to cite whoever it was for curfew violation. As he walked towards the figure, Wrallins felt increasingly that something was wrong. He was no rookie, he had plenty of experience, and this didn't seem out of the ordinary, but nevertheless he felt an inexplicable chill touch his spine as he viewed his subject. The figure was clothed in an outlandish jet-black flowing cloak, complete with a hood that obscured the face. It stood tall; head bowed, and didn't seem to even notice Wrallins's presence. Wrallins stepped into its path, and addressed it according to procedure, despite the growing sense of impeding danger.

"Halt! You have been found in violation of City Criminal Defense Code Number seventy-six, paragraph four, line eight, which states that-" Wrallins voice suddenly stopped; died in his throat. The dark figure's hand had, with inhuman speed, shot out from within the folds of its cloak and closed around the seal that joined Wrallins' upper chest armor to his helmet. There was an audible crack as the duranium neck-seal snapped beneath the vise-like grip. Wrallins' feet were yanked from the concrete as he was hoisted up by the neck and held high enough so that the crystal orbs beneath the hood could gaze into his eyes and strike a bolt of fear into his soul. His rifle fell from his numb grip and clattered to the ground. Terror overwhelmed him, and he began kicking and squirming like a hooked worm. His eyes rolled back and his legs jerked as his trachea finally collapsed under the pressure. He hung limply for another moment, suspended from the dark figure's grip against the faintly flickering sky, and then was slammed to the ground with enough force to crack the pavement. First Class Sergeant Timothey Wrallins lay in a broken heap of splintered armor and broken bone, the first victim of many to come.

_That was refreshing._ Zscythe turned away from the shattered wreck of a human at his feet to survey the district building, an installation that very closely resembled a fort. _Interesting architecture, _He mused at the structure. The fools had only left a single trooper to guard it; they had expected any and all trouble to occur away from this supposed sanctuary and not anywhere near it. He had observed their departure into the city, and now he wanted them to return. _I think I know how to gain their undivided attention. _He strode up to building till he stood directly before it.The hood fell to his shoulders as he raised his arms and turned his face to the full moon and the night sky above him. He spread his hands out to either side and curled them into fists as they began to resonate with an unearthly hue. Strands of brilliant blue energy crackled in the air around his closed fingers as the stars began to fade and a chill wind began to blow. Zscythe's cape twisted in the breeze as the dark light above him grew, began to pulse. He reached into his frozen heart, and withdrew the emotions he kept locked there, feelings that he could touch and carry; feeling that pained him, thoughts and memories that burned him, struck him, cut at his soul…and enraged him. Enraged and empowered him. He felt the familiar surge, tasted the hate, grasped the door, opened it, and unleashed a millennia of withheld fury in a single moment. The energy tore open his palms, lashed outward across space and like a frenzied flock of flaming whips, ripped into the simple manmade object that he faced. The building was shredded like so many burning leaves in a storm. Overhead, nature's cousin to the force fueled electric display stabbed downward in reply, falling in jagged paths, like water drops on a windshield. Below, the remainder of the district building collapsed in on itself and caught fire. Somewhere, a gas line went up and exploded in a mushroom cloud of heat and debris that washed over Zscythe in a fiery wave. The night was alight with the strange dancing lights of flame and lighting. Then the streaks of churning energy that had effortlessly speared through the duranium and steel of the station's walls began to fade, and slowly withdrew back to their source. Zscythe reeled in his hatred, and threw it back into his heart to impatiently await its next release. He lowered his arms to his sides, and admired his work. Wisps of acrid smoke arose from his fingertips as he turned away, satisfied. It began to rain; heavy thick rain that soaked the streets and boiled into steam over the smoldering remains behind him. In the distance, wails of emergency sirens could be heard coming nearer. They were coming, coming for him. _Let them come._ Lunaeus Zscythe prepared for battle.


	8. The Beginning of the Fall

Disclaimer: Me no own Teen Titans. Zscythe mine.

"No! For the last time, you're staying here!" Robin whirled on his two teammates, both of which were equally as frustrated as he was.

"Robin! Just listen to us, man! He will take you out like a fly hitting a bug zapper! You don't even begin to stand a chance!" Cyborg tried to plea his case. It had no effect. They were all three in the main room of the tower. Or better stated as the remains of the main room. A security console, which had somehow survived the earlier evening's battle, was displaying a map of the city with a flashing red emblem over Police Station 7b. A smaller side screen showed a live image of the twisted, melted, and sizzling heap of garbage that was a police force garrison only minutes ago. In the foreground, an officer's body lay twisted at unnatural angles on the pavement; he had been put there so hard, a small crater had formed beneath him. A shadowy, all-too-familiar and sinister figure stood at the center of the image, as police lights flashed across the scene.

"You see that?" Robin gestured to the monitors. "That's only the beginning of what he can do. What he will do! He has to be stopped!"

"By who? You and that army in your back pocket? Earth to Robin! Come in. Anybody there!" Beast Boy tapped frantically at an imaginary headset. "You actually think you can fight him alone?"

"Not alone." The voice came from the back of the room. "I'm coming." The three titans turned to face the voice.

"Raven!" Robin was across the room and at her side, hugging her in one swift movement. Then he pulled away and looked quizzically at her. "What are you doing back here? It's not safe!"

"It's okay, Robin. You and I are a whole lot safer than you think."

"What? What do you mean?" Cyborg asked.

"Listen, I've got a lot to tell you." Raven turned to Cyborg and Beast Boy, who still bore the evidence of their ill-fated encounters. "What happened to you two? And in here?" She looked around, viewing the carnage. "Are you alright?"

"Well, your little friend decided to pay us a visit. Gave us a 100 percent butt kicking. We'll live." Cyborg removed his ruined optical and tossed it aside.

"We've got a lot to tell you, too." Robin began.

Beast Boy pointed at the screens. "Uh, guys? Hate to interrupt this little chit-chat, but we have a big problem down there that's blowing things up."

"Right. There's no time, then. You three have to leave. Take the T-ship. Just get as far away from here as possible. You have to keep Raven safe. I have to save the people. And I have to stop Zscythe. Any way I can…" Robin looked into Raven's eyes, read something there.

"Robin…" she whispered.

"No, Raven! Not you. I can't let him hurt you. I won't! I won't risk anyone else. It doesn't matter if you know anything more there just isn't any time. Go with Cyborg and Beast Boy. They will keep you safe."

Raven's eyes misted. "Until when?"

Robin's masked gaze grew dark. He turned away. "You have to leave now." He turned to his other two teammates. "Take good care of her."

Beast Boy swallowed. "Good luck, man." He shook Robin's hand.

Cyborg lowered his head. He firmly grasped Robin's hand. "I wanted to do this as a team."

Robin smiled thinly. "I know."

Raven's eyes grew wide with disbelief. "What? No, Robin! You don't have to do this! There are other ways! Please, no!" She began sobbing uncontrollably. She knew she could help him, and yet, she didn't know how. If only she had the final key. "Please, no!" She felt so helpless, like the answer was there but she just couldn't reach it. Robin gently lifted her in his arms. He gazed into the endless depths of her beautiful eyes, and wordlessly, bent down and kissed her. She suddenly felt so warm, so calm. But it ended, and then he released her into the supporting hands of Beast Boy and Cyborg. The cold, wet night closed in again. He turned, and swiftly strode to the shattered view port, and with one last glance back, fell out into the rainy night. He spread his arms, tightened his cape, and glided upward, riding the turbulent air currents into the city, and flew away toward the storm.

"_Robin_!" Raven cried out one last time, tears running down her cheeks. "He doesn't have to do this!"

"Come on, Raven. Let's go." Cyborg quietly said. They turned and strode away to the hangar.

Miles away, in the bowels of the city, the shrill scream of police sirens echoed off the canyons of steel, as a variable army raced for the destroyed police station- and the perpetrator who calmly stood in the street before it. The first units arrived and quickly surrounded the area from any escape. They waited at their vehicles, training their weapons on the ghostly figure that stood motionless and hooded, seemingly unaware of the drenching rain that fell around him.

Zscythe saw them, knew they were there. He felt them, their excitement and fear. He could measure that in the sound of their heartbeats. He waited, very patiently, as a perimeter around him was secured. He ignored the voice of the negotiator, urging him to surrender. More units arrived; more men poured into the streets. More weapons aimed at his heart, ready to fire. Which only meant more target practice for him. He waited, until at last all he could see were police vehicles and the white-clad peace enforcers. All was ready now. A dead silence had fallen, punctuated by razor-thin tension. Even the negotiator had given up and gone quiet. Zscythe could feel the momentum rising. The familiar beast that had raged within his soul had gone rigid and still, anticipating its impending release. The time was now. He freed his inner power once again.

The strangely garbed assailant had not moved once or made a sound during the entire deployment of troops around him. It was as if he were frozen, a statue in the rain. He hadn't displayed any weapons, so there was no clue as to how he wrecked the station and eliminated a highly trained officer. To the surrounding police forces, this was a completely new experience. Nothing quite like this had ever occurred. The order was about to be given to move in and subdue the suspect when something happened. The lone figure moved. In a lightning-quick movement his hand shot out from beneath his cloak and was held aloft, to the right of his head. Simultaneously, across the street and behind several parked vehicles and a swarm of police, a store-front window exploded outward as a ceremonial katana left its display case in the window, and, as if by its own will flipped end over end first through the glass, and then out into the night and through the rain. An unfortunate officer who stood in its path was impaled and flipped 360 degrees onto the hood of a car. The sword withdrew from his back, having never stopped moving, and spun all the way past stunned police to the source of its summoning, to the raised hand of the mysterious suspect. He caught it, flipped it over and around, till the blade ran up beside his arm, the tip parallel to his shoulder. The hundreds of police around him hesitated, unsure of what was happening. The figure's other hand moved to his head, and with a swift movement, removed the hood that covered his face. His eyes shone like twin, frozen suns as he crouched down, spread his arms, and leapt forward. A single voice broke the silence. "Fire!" A sergeant barked the order, and hundreds of pulse rifles unleashed their energy at the attacker. Strobes of light lit the cascading beads of rain as lightning twisted across the sky, and the battle began.

The shadow was halfway to his first target when they opened fire. He had leapt almost vertically, high into the night. He rose, as blue lashes of energy sang past him. In midair, facing a clump of armored vans, he crossed his arms over his chest, felt the energy surge rise as he began his descent, and then unleashed it, flinging wide his arms as his feet touched the pavement. An unseen wave rippled through the air and struck the vehicles head on with hurricane force, lifting and hurling them, and a handful of nearby soldiers, end over into the air and then down onto the street hundreds of feet away. Without pause, the shadow jumped again, flipping backwards and spinning as some of the bolts began to connect. With incredible speed, the shadow met the incoming energy rounds with his palms, reaching out for them, reflecting them back in every direction as he rotated across to the other side of the ring of police forces. The ricocheted energy beams found their marks, striking many ill-concealed officers and their vehicles. He completed his arch and landed amid a mass of armor and shouts. He began hacking and whirling, striking out with his blade-assisted forearm in fluid, graceful flowing movements. Ducking and leaping, twisting, lashing, he was everywhere. Cleaved pieces of armor and soldiers fell with the rain to the street. He turned, flicking a wrist and flinging men up dozens of stories and then dashing them down on top of their comrades.The shadow worked his way around the circle of men, as the ranks began to melt and scatter before his power. Those who tried to flee were yanked back and struck down, slashed to the ground. Cars were ripped to the frame, their parts used as projectiles, flowing like a flock of persistent raptors plucking at their prey. Explosions and screams had replaced the silence and rent the night. The frozen inferno scorched the depths of the shadow's heart, as the blackened rage of the dark side guided his movements, striking down all that stood before him, until finally, he raised the reddened blade to the weeping sky, and with a warrior's cry, tore nature's own might from her realm, bringing down a vortex of lightning from the heavens to the blade tip, down his arm, across his body, through his mind, till he spun the glowing sword and stabbed it through the pavement and into the earth. The blinding mass of energy spread outward from him, incinerating everything, destroying the rest of the cars in chain explosions, blowing away any surviving soldiers, crawling up buildings in winding flaming vines, and then slicing through them, bringing the monoliths down in rumbling showers of dust and steel. The carnage lasted a few moments more, and then fell still as the glow faded away back to darkness, broken only by diminishing flames. The shadow lingered at the epicenter, his rage expended and returned, momentarily, to its prison. The frozen gaze regarded the smoking and smoldering scene with satisfaction. The fall had just begun.

High above the city, another lone warrior, riding the skies, came upon the destruction. Robin's mind reeled at the sheer scale of destruction as he viewed the circular hole that had been blown from the city. He gaped at the massive and empty burning and blackened patch that surrounded almost a square mile of what been a thriving community. Most of the people had probably been evacuated at the first threat, but the army of police couldn't possibly have escaped that. Robin gritted his teeth in fury. He was too late. He had known that ever since he saw the brilliant flash fall into the city on the near horizon. And now, as he circled above, an icy chill passed through him as he saw far below, two pinpricks of pale blue against the simmering darkness peering up at him. The chill passed, replaced by a hot wave that boiled up within his chest. His heart pounded as he glided up into a stall, and then twisted away into a near free-fall as Robin dove down to meet his enemy.


	9. Moment of Truth

Ireally can't say much, other than I hope you enjoy it, and it'd be nice if you reviewed it.

Disclaimer: I own this story, not the Teen Titans. Sadly.

He raced the rain down to the earth, the wind pulling at his face. The rage had arisen within him, the burning in his heart he felt every time he fought against what he very well could have been. Robin descended towards the darkness, like a fiery angel of justice, sent to crush shadows that would never die, but always return. That was who he was, why he existed. As long as they were there, he would meet them, engage them, and beat them. He could not allow this to be any different. And yet it was. It involved Raven. And that meant everything. Why? No. Not now. Emotions only distract and confuse at a time like this. Need to focus. Where is he? Robin looked down, to the blackened surface rising towards him, where he had seen the all-too-familiar pinpricks of pale, sky-blue light. Through the curtain of rain, he caught sight of them again, but they were moving. Getting bigger, closer. Coming to meet him. The realization hit Robin about the same time Zscythe did. Out of pure instinct, Robin's hand snapped to his side, and drew his staff, desperately thrusting it down before him in the instant before contact. It had only telescoped open about halfway before it was clipped in half. In the same moment, Zscythe landed an adder-quick follow-up strike to Robin's jaw. Robin's head whipped back as his body was abruptly flipped completely over. Pain rocked at his core, his vision flared and blurred. Robin tumbled, end over end, like a dove shot from the sky. He struck a slanted rooftop, glanced off, fell, slammed into a fire escape, fell, and then vanished beneath the sea of rusty smoke that floated up into the rain.

Above the fallen angel, the darkness gathered. The shadow slowly drifted, spiraling down an invisible staircase, down into the ruins after Robin. The force-user had been over-estimated. Even now, the shadow could feel the light below him flickering, fading. It was only a matter of time before it would be extinguished forever. The rain slid off the long dark hair and onto the jet-black armor as the sith lord stepped out of the steamy fog and onto the slick asphalt. Zscythe looked around, puzzled. Robin was nowhere to be seen. He had fallen here, landed among the smoke and debris, but was apparently up and running. How interesting. Perhaps this opponent was more than he seemed. Zscythe strode off into the mist, his cape swirling in the steamy draft, his sword held at the ready. Robin was out there. It was only a matter of time…

Raven's eyes widened. She was seated in the back of the car, which was rocketing away from the very place and the very person she wanted to be by right this moment in the whole universe. She snapped her watery eyes shut in enraged sorrow. She had failed him. She knew what to do, but she couldn't grasp how. She was helpless, useless, and worthless. It was over. Then, a voice in her mind. _It's never over. You can still try. _Her own voice. And her mother's. And a million others, a multitude of truth. Her fists clenched. _I can! No way am I letting my failures and problems destroy everyone I ever loved. I can still do something. It's never over._ With that thought, something abruptly changed. She inhaled deeply. She felt…. So calm, all of a sudden. Everything cleared before her. The path was there; she didn't understand it, but she trusted it, and stepped out boldly to meet it. _I'm coming, Robin…_

Cyborg and BeastBoy both noticed it at the same time, which how they usually did things. The back seat, where they had last seen a distraught Raven, was now completely awash in pure light, as bright as a morning sun. A strange wind began to blow inside the car.

"What in the-" Cyborg raised an arm to block the beams that reflected from his mirrors. "Yo, I can't see! B! What's going on?"

The changeling, his hair whipping in the gale, turned in his seat shielding the fierce, blinding glare as best he could. What little he saw was enough.

"It's Raven!" He shouted, "She's just sitting there, like she's meditating! But she's- well, shining!"

"I noticed that! But when was the last time she did- Hey!" Cyborg jerked angrily at the controls.

"We stopped moving!" BeastBoy looked out the window at the motionless scenery below.

"I noticed that too! And there's nothing I can do about it!" Cyborg could barely be heard over the howling wind inside. The light grew even stronger, with a still and silent Raven seated in its core. The light pulsed and intensified. "Hold on!" Cyborg screamed as the winds slammed him on his side.

"Wha-" The word was cut off from BeastBoy's lips.

The light rippled, then surged outward and engulfed the entire car, sending shattered glass flying from the windows. Blinding whiteness registered at the edge of BeastBoy's consciousness, and then, nothing else registered.

Robin gasped for air, sucking it into his bruised lungs like water in a parched desert. He was a mess, and worse, he new it. He had dragged himself behind a pile of rubble, and now lay covered in choking dust. He was furious. At himself. How could he let that happen? He should have concentrated more, arrived earlier, done everything better! He really could hate himself sometimes. But he didn't have the luxury of it now. He felt that vile presence approaching, as if a calm before the storm. He smiled grimly. _Looked like the storm already struck._ He staggered to his feet, and stumbled away through the suffocating smog. Dizziness overcame him, his legs became rubber, and he fell on all fours, crawling toward- no not towards anything, but away from the physical darkness gathering behind him, like a raptor closing in on its prey. Through blurring and swaying eyes, he could see the harsh blackness forming and approaching just beyond the wall of fog. He flung himself over a low-slung shattered brick wall, and lay just beyond, yet still within the shadow's reach. Robin stood bare meters away from his predator, andhe felt despair setting in against his will. He was in absolutely no shape to fight anybody, least of all the most powerful entity in practical existence. He couldn't just keep running away, that fate would accomplish nothing, and had no honor, and was the same as admitting utter, final defeat. And so Robin came to the realization and acceptance of what he had to do. He would, in good shape or not, go out fighting. There was at least a scrap of satisfaction in that. There was no other way. _This is for you Raven._ He swallowed, then stood slowly, and rose to face the blackness of shadow before him. Zscythe saw him, and a flicker of surprise crossed his pale eyes, followed by satisfaction and dark anticipation. For a moment, the two stood motionless, both silently understanding the gravity of the situation across time and space. Then, Robin calmly began pacing forward. Zscythe followed suite, and approached his prey. They both stopped, stood opposite of one another, true opposites, black and white, light and shadow, fire and ice. Zscythe spoke.

"Truth, Robin. Cold, hard, frozen reality. The truth here, and everywhere," He gestured to indicate the world around them. "Then, now, and yet to come, it is the sole governor of our fates. Who we are, and what we become is bound by truth. It is the beginning and the end, and in this case it is both. The end of you, and beginning of another era, the dawn of the night, the age of the Sith." He turned his gaze to Robin's face to see into the eyes, that final moment of truth falling into place, like a lock on a cell. But he could only see the stark whiteness of the mask. It shielded his hypnotic glare. And for somereason it enraged him. "You know Robin, the truth is in the eye…" He lunged forward, struck Robin a bone-crushing blow to his gut, and seized him by his collar, heaving him upward off the ground. Robin feebly struggled, but it was no use. Zscythe drew his sword and leveled it at Robin's face; the scarred steel a fraction of an inch from his eyes. The blade flicked forward, and severed the bind holding the eyepieces together, slicing the mask in two.But Robin, and his eyes,suddenly weren't there anymore.In the instant the blade withdrew, Robin simply vanished from the shadow's grasp. Stunned, Zscythe held his pose for a moment, and then awkwardly shifted his limbs down to his side. Robin's broken mask lay in Zscythe's grasp. He clenched his fist around the thin material, and his gaze sharpened.

Robin was gone.


	10. The Tides of Madness

As Zscythe stood observing with due confusion the empty space before him where Robin had been standing mere moments before, there was a brilliant burst of light directly behind him among the smoky charred remains of rubble. He whirled around in time to see the T-Car materialize out of nowhere and fall a few meters, crashing into the burned pavement in a heap. The light remained steady as the understandably dazed pair of Cyborg and Beast Boy kicked out their ruined car doors and stumbled down to their shadows on the ground. But it wasn't their unusual arrival or even that they survived his victory in the tower confrontation that caught Zscythe's attention. It was the fresh surging presence of his objective that he felt radiating outwards from the car like a screaming and explosive beacon. _Raven. You've come back to me._

Inside the car, Raven felt a renewed sense of vigor, energy, and dare she say it, righteousness!

_Who is he to think he can come after me, hurt my friends, destroy the people I've sworn to protect?! I don't care how strong he is, I don't care how evil he is, no one does do that and gets away! And behind all his powers he's still just a living, breathing, bleeding being, like my father. I stopped one, now I WILL beat the other! Robin, thank you for everything, I'm about to pay you back!_

Beast Boy groaned as he regained his footing with some difficulty and, using the car as a crutch, worked his way around to find Cyborg rising to his feet.

"You ok, man?" The green team member asked his cybernetic comrade as he looked around, peering through the rain. Cyborg shook his head as if to clear it from their unexpected transit as Beast Boy continued. "Raven's still in the car, she looks... shiny still, but ok. How did we get here?"

"B.B.." Cyborg began, as he flexed his shoulders, cracked his knuckles, and popped his neck with grim determination. "I have no clue how we got here, and I really don't care, cause right now, I feel better than I have in years!"

Beast Boy followed his determined glare and met amused gaze of their latest greatest annoyance. Zscythe's frigid eyes sparked with wicked pleasure, and he began to laugh, sounding out a demented howl of pleasure. His words came at them filled with humored spite through the downpour.

"So I see you two pathetic underlings somehow survived our last encounter." He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and continued. "It is of no consequence, however, seeing as Raven has been delivered right to me and is mine for the taking. Now, you will all suffer for your futile resistance!"

Cyborg cracked a wicked grin. He was through playing games with this caped creep. "We'll see about who suffers, right, B.B?" He looked over at Beast Boy, but his shorter companion was staring transfixed at the remains of the car.

"Beast Boy?" He turned and looked at what the other Titan was staring so intently. It was the car, glowing brighter than it had been before. A high pitched whine began building in intensity and suddenly the roof of the car erupted and was blown away as a glowing figure ascended out of the wreckage and landed between the two Titans.

"Raven!" Beast Boy exclaimed happily.

Still engulfed in light, Raven turned to smile at her two friends. "Alright guys, I've got everything under control, you two get back to somewhere safe. Robin and I need to handle this."

"Raven," Cyborg looked at her with heartfelt honesty. "We're not going ANYWHERE. We're a team, a family, and we're doing this together."

"Cyborg's right and all, but didn't you say something about Robin? 'Cause I don't think he's here." Beast Boy gestured back in front of them, back at the black shape now walking towards them briskly. "Our friend there seems to be the only one around, and he doesn't look like he wants to chat"

The shadow had heard enough, so he began to approach the three targets before him. Enough conversation, this world needed action! And the Sith were all about action, it was what they based their existence off of. No time wasted considering other's well-being, just do what you want when you want. Only do it with enough care to ensure that you win. And Zscythe new what he had to do o win. The two whom he had fought before shouldn't be too much of a problem, and despite Raven's newfound confidence, she couldn't resist him for long. The only catch was the now absent Robin, but as long as he remained absent, he could be dealt with later. Zscythe grinned viciously. He could feel the end approaching.

Raven looked up to see her nemesis approaching. She felt only a trace of her former terror at his coming. She turned to her friends again. "Thank you guys so much, I never tell you two enough, but..." She smiled at their appreciative expressions. "You two are like brothers, and you both mean a lot to me!" Then, turning back to her incoming enemy, she was all business. She met his cold steely blue gaze and proclaimed, "I won't just surrender to you, you'll have to beat me first. And I won't let that happen."

"And we won't either." Snarled Beast Boy. Raven's appreciation speech had given him confidence.

"Yeah," Cyborg locked on to the black clad enemy in front of him, his new ocular device finding him flawlessly through the rain. "You'll have to get past us before you can even try for Raven."

The tension was as thick as it could get, and an explosion was inevitable. Zscythe could feel the shift in the force even before he heard the familiar voice behind him.

"Don't forget about me."

I should have known, Zscythe thought. A figure materialized in a blur right before him, and before he could even move to parry the blow he knew was coming, it landed, harder than anything he had ever felt before. A wicked CRACK! resounded in the air as Zscythe found himself traveling backwards so fast that the shards of his shattered plate mail and wisps of blood flowing up and out his throat from his ruptured internals seemed to be flying in the opposite direction. He landed hard in the charred street, leaving an elongated crater in the asphalt. Through pain-blurred vision and the distortion of the rain, the shadow looked up to see its counterpart standing where the shadow had been just a moment before. The shadow was speechless. None of his training, none of his confidence, none of his strength had readied him for this. The Jedi were all killed long before the Shadow's arrival, and now that he stood in the presence of their resurrection, facing the light he had never seen, he felt blinded. And afraid. For peering back through the falling prisms of water were a pair of eyes. Not just any pair of eyes. The shadow's eyes. As blue and as radiant and as fierce and triumphant as a summer sky, Robin's eyes shone like a sun through the cold vacuum of space. And the Shadow had to avert his own.

"ROBIN!" Chorused the three voices upon witnessing the arrival of their teammate. He didn't reply. Raven, still glowing, felt something coming from him that was familiar, and yet completely alien at the same time. No, that wasn't entirely true. She had noticed a similar, yet much more faint and weakened signal coming from her mother. But, this felt- HE felt like so much more. And somehow, she felt the same sense of being overwhelmed and awed coming from Robin as she did Zscythe, with one exception. She wasn't afraid. Whatever it was, she felt very good about it.

"Uh, Robin?" Cyborg looked puzzled. Robin started, as if emerging from a dream, and slowly turned around and smiled.

"Hey, guys!" Everyone gasped. His EYES! They shone the most beautiful beaming blue, just like Zscyhte's, with no pupils, just pure light.

"DUDE! Your EYES! They look AWESOME!" Beast Boy ran up Robin and leaned in uncomfortably close to examine Robin unmasked. Robin leaned back awkwardly as Beast Boy loomed closer until Raven reached forward with a scowl and jerked Beast Boy out of the way.

"Sorry Rae, I was just-" She cut the green changling off.

"Robin!" She exclaimed, smiling, and threw her arms around him holding him tight. His arms wrapped gently around her and she felt so safe and warm there, like it was where she belonged. "I'm so glad to see you" She began speaking much more quickly and with more emotion than she had in the entire time he had known her. "There' s so much I have to tell you! I went and saw my mother, and she told me she was a, a..." Her voice trailed off into silence as she looked up at him.

"Raven." His voice and the intensity of his gaze enveloped her as she enveloped them both in light. "Before you say anything else, I have to tell you something. I'm sorry I never told you before, but something I never took the time to realize myself. But it's always been there, since the day I met you, something I _feel_, something I know." He smiled, the same smile that made her stomach do a flip-flop and her heart skip a beat every time she saw it.

Beast Boy raised a finger to interject a witty one liner about all this, but Cyborg, understanding the seriousness of such things, snuck a broad hand over his friend's mouth, oh-so-unsubtly giving him a clue to keep quiet so that his other two friends could have their landmark moment.

"Raven," Her eyes watered with joy at what she felt coming. "What I'm trying to say is, I lo-" Robin was abruptly cut short by an unholy sound echoing forth from its source in the form of his downed opponent whom he had just tossed down the street. It wasn't a scream, it was too awful and furious to be a scream. Zscythe had risen to his knees and thrown his head back, emitting a shriek unlike any the Titans had heard. The closest thing Robin could compare it to was the sound of a wounded and enraged animal fighting for its life. Covering their ears, the Titans waited until the sound died away into hoarse ragged breathing.

Raven was beyond mad. Her yes glowed bright red, contrasting greatly with her brightness. _HE has been the root cause of ALL of this and now he's ruining the happiest moment of my WHOLE ENTIRE LIFE?! He's NOT getting away with this!_ She looked around her at her friends. The others were scowling with severly disapproving expressions in Zscythe's direction as well, but then they turned to looks of confusion as Zscythe began to chuckle, his head hung in the rain, dark hair slick and matted. His gaze lifted with his rising laughter, interrupted only by a blood soaked cough. His eyes, sought out and locked with Raven's. She saw the familiar darkness coupled with the new elements of fury, fear, desperation, and growing madness. And she began to understand that even if they beat him, it didn't mean that they had won.

His voice rasped out at them, harsh and ragged, overflowing with malice and spite. "I know what's happening now, Raven. I should have seen this all along, should have calculated it into my plans, but I didn't. And so this is the part where I pay for my mistakes. This is the part," He turned his attention to Robin who stared back with mirrored eyes and determination. "Where I lose to you. But," He was addressing all of them now. "I think you all know me well enough by now to believe me when I say that I WON'T die alone. If I go to hell, well then" He chuckled again, and spit blood to the ground. He rose slowly to his feet, regaining some sense of stamina. He curled his hands into fists and slowly raised them over his head as a strange wind began to bend the rain towards him, and a familiar sick feeling began to stir in the depths of Raven's chest.

"I'll take you all with me!" Zscythe screamed through a bloody triumphant smile.

The hair on Raven's neck began to rise. A sudden flicker of electricity danced across the space between the two sides. The wind began to howl as more flashes ripped through the air, turning into a constant flow that twisted and lashed violently into Zscythe's grip. With an incredible mind-numbing and ear-drum endangering explosion, lighting lanced downwards and poured over Zscythe's now convulsing form like dazzling and deadly water. He spread his arms wide as a jet black ball of energy began growing in size over his head, sucking in all the lightning's brilliance like a black hole. Raven felt the fear sink its claws back into her heart as she finally fully grasped what he was going to do.

"This," he hissed. "Is when we all lose."


End file.
